February / March 2020 By-Line
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Whitesville Central School Blue Jay By-Line February/March 2020 In December, the DECA Club participated in the regional competition in Olean. Fifteen of our students attended the competition. Caleb Cutler, Sydney Tubbs, Aislinn Hamilton, Matt Garis, Katie Barney, Kennedy Bledsoe, Rachel Jackson, Nolen Smith, Alden Smith, Chelsie Reisman, Jordan Buchholz, Gretta Tubbs, Randa Waite and Wyatt Hamilton participated. The competition consisted of a 100-question written exam and a role play problem solving activity based on a business principle. There were 89 students from across the region that participated. Our students did a fantastic job. Sidney, Caleb, Katie and Kennedy were our top four finishers and will be moving on to the state competition in Rochester at the end of February. Sidney finished 3rd overall in the competition; this is a great accomplishment. Whitesville Girl Scout Troops collected 108 winter hats and gloves to help those in need this winter. Pictured left are the girls giving Whitesville Central School’s donation bag to Superintendent Emery. Thank you to everyone who donated and made this possible. WCS, Empowering Learners to Lead, Innovate and Communicate A message from Superintendent Emery... Dear Whitesville Community, WCS has had a very busy and productive first semester! Our WCS Advocacy Committee has brought about our first annual Grandparent Luncheon, a Small Schools Student Council group (comprised of Whitesville, Andover, Belfast Friendship and Scio), completed a 5th -12th grade student climate survey, and had motivational speaker (Ron James) share his experience about Choices. We are having Mr. Ron James back for a part two of Choices on February 24th. He will be meeting with students during the day, leading a dance party afterschool and showing the motion picture of his life in the evening. All students in 6th grade and up, as well as community members, are encourage to come and watch the movie and speak to Mr. James personally. What a great opportunity for our community! In looking forward to our second semester, we will be kicking off “Cheer for a Peer” and “The Beak this Week.” Both will help us stay informed and look for the positive characteristics in the people we are with almost every day. Win! Win! As we move through the rest of the winter, I will be sending joyful and warm thoughts to you all! Respectfully, Tammy M. Emery GRANDPARENT LUNCHEON Breakfast Club A message from Principal McNeely... Our elementary students continue to work on Social and Emotional learning. We will be looking at social-awareness and relationship skills during the months of February and March. Students are focusing on what it means to be a good friend, good citizen and how to communicate and get along. These are lessons that we can all benefit from to build a better world. Our 7th grade leaders, chosen by their teachers, are Eli Barney, Jack Lee, Olivia Buchholz, and Katrina Lewis. These students attended the Middle School Leadership Conference on January 9th where they spent the day with other student leaders from Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. Students learned how to continue developing their skills to become the leaders of tomorrow. We will be planning another family engagement night for the spring! More information to come as this develops. The NYS Math test for grades 3-8 will be March 25 and 26. These are important measures of where students are at in their academic progression. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and eats a healthy breakfast to ensure they are at their best for the test! For more information on 3-8 states tests please visit the following: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/ei/parentguide/parentguide.pdf REMINDER - NO SCHOOL February 17-21 (Winter Recess) and March 13 (Superintendent’s Conference) EMERGENCY SCHOOL CLOSING LIST It is imperative that your child’s emergency contact information has been updated. Please be certain to keep your child(s) information updated. You are also encouraged to have a plan in place should students be dismissed early. When it is necessary to delay school opening, close school or dismiss early, the following TV and radio stations will be contacted: Channel 7 TV WKBW AM Buffalo Channel 4 TV WIVB AM Buffalo 103.5 FM WJQZ, Wellsville 790 AM WLSV, Wellsville 101.9 FM WZKZ, Wellsville 95.7 FM WPIG, Olean 1450 AM WHDL, Olean 105.3 FM WKPQ, Hornell 1320 AM WHHO, Hornell 92.1 FM WCKR, Hornell 1480 AM WLEA, Hornell SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NEWS: REMINDERS TO SENIORS Seniors are reminded to bring a copy of college acceptance letters and scholarship offers to the guidance office. Students and parents should apply for financial aid as soon as possible. You must complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be eligible to receive federal student aid. The FAFSA is also required for most state and institutional financial aid opportunities. Financial aid offices use information from the FAFSA to determine if you are eligible to receive federal student aid from grants, loans and work-study programs. You may file your FAFSA electronically at www.fafsa.ed.gov. CLASS OF 2020 SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINES Don’t miss out on these scholarships! If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, please stop in the guidance office. January 31 - Elks Legacy Award: Eligibility requirements for this scholarship are: college-bound high school seniors who are the children or grandchildren of dues-paying Elks. Applicants will compete against other children and grandchildren from the state of their sponsoring Elks Lodge. The applicant will be judged on the core values of the Elks National Foundation: knowledge, charity, community service and integrity. For details, visit: enf.elks.org/leg. February 1 - Character Excellence Scholarship: The Character Council of WNY and Harvest Time Partners are pleased to offer $1,000 scholarships to college or trade school bound seniors who exemplify character in their daily lives. Students must be a current resident of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, or Wyoming counties to be considered. For further information and applications, please visit: www.charactercouncilwny.org. February 1 - Young Women in Public Affairs Scholarship: This is a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the Zonta Club of Olean, NY. The program goal is to encourage more young women to participate in public affairs by recognizing a commitment to the volunteer sector, and dedication to the advancement of the status of women. Applications are available in the guidance office. February 3 - Allegany County Area Foundation Dollars for Scholars: The Allegany County Area Foundation has renewed its affiliation with the Dollars for Scholars Program. All of the scholarship information and the online scholarship application may be found at: www.alleganycountyareafoundation.dollarsforscholars.org. February 15 - National Co-op Scholarship Program: To qualify for this scholarship program, students must: have a cumulative high school average of 90 or better, apply for admission for the 2019-2020 academic year at institution(s) you select on the scholarship application, and meet other merit scholarship criteria as established by the institution(s) selected on the application. To complete the application online, please visit: www.waceinc.org. March 10th – A-1 Auto Transport Annual Scholarship: Eligibility includes any current, full-time, part-time student of an accredited institute, must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. Applicants must write an essay/article to: [email protected] along with full name, contact info, and school they will be attending. See website for typical topics that essay could include. March 16 - ServU Smart Saver Award: ServU Credit Union Smart Savers Award is an award of $500. The applicant must be a graduating senior planning to attend a two- or four-year college in the Fall of 2019, GPA of 75-90%, and a ServU Credit Union member. Applications are available in the guidance office. If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, please stop in the guidance office. Making Schedules For 2020-2021 Other Important Dates: Meetings with students in grades 8-11 to prepare class schedules for the Penn-York College Night 2020-2021 school year will begin in March. During the meeting, students March 17th at St. Bonaventure will receive a general orientation to schedule preparation, including a review University- 6:00-7:30 of their individualized graduation plans and Whitesville Central School graduation requirements. If you have any questions concerning your child’s SAT School Day- April 28th schedule and/or graduation requirements, please contact the School Counseling Office at 607-356-3301 ext. 235. Classroom News Lots of exciting things are happening in Kindergarten! In ELA, we learned all our letter names and letter sounds and are busy starting to read words and even short phrases. We have also learned about our five senses, nursery rhymes, Native Americans and kings and queens. In math, we have learned how to write numbers 1-10 and are learning how to add and subtract numbers within 5. We were very excited to start science! We learned about human impact and how we can do small things to help keep the Earth a great place. Our next unit will be on how objects move! Using large letter card necklaces to spell out words. In Daily 5, we are busy starting our iReady lessons, writing the room, learning our sight words, and working with teachers in small groups. We are having so much fun learning and growing together in Kindergarten! Being silly during our Christmas party! First graders at WCS have been so busy over the holiday season, it’s just flown by. We’ve been learning lots of new vowel sounds to help us become better readers.